setting is the British boys' school of Rugby,
Hughes's alma mater; hence the colony name.
Trees are a big asset to the valley of the
Tennessee; more than half the area is wooded.
TVA's Division of Forestry, Fisheries and
Wildlife Development, quartered in Norris,
northwest of Knoxville, works to upgrade the
region's wild resources, including trees. I chat
ted with the division's Dr. Robert Farmer,
whose specialties include tree genetics.
"The forests are important for the value of
their wood products," he said, "but they're
also increasingly vital for a host of other uses.
They improve water quality and flow, serve
recreation, add wildlife habitat, and form a
major scenic resource. Part of our job is to
make sure all these benefits enhance the qual
ity of life for valley people."
Tracking Down a Haunting Sound
Some trees don't have to justify their ex
istence. They just stand there looking beauti
ful. The dogwoods, for instance, which dot
the green valley with white and pink splashes
each spring. It's no wonder that Knoxville's
spring celebration is called the Dogwood
Arts Festival.
During last year's fete, I strolled Knox
ville's streets. There were wood carvings that
needed buying and band music to listen to. I
bought and I listened. Then, as the red-coated
young bandsmen packed up their instru
ments, I heard another tune. The haunting
sound of a dulcimer playing "Barbara Allen."
I tracked it to its source, for five years
earlier, while writing a story on the Great
Smokies,* I had become a dulcimer buff. The
source turned out to be Dorsey Williams, a
burly man whose big hands could coax the
gentlest of sounds from his homemade instru
ments. For an hour we talked together and
played together. Dorsey's introduction to dul
cimers had come ten years before.
"I borrowed the first dulcimer I ever saw,"
he said, "steamed it apart, made tracings of
all the pieces, and glued it back together
before returning it. Then I made my own."
*See the October 1968 issue of the GEOGRAPHIC.
They chose the land: Wayne Hubbs gave up teaching and returned with his family to
his grandfather's acres near Heiskell. He joined the Rapid Adjustment Farming Program,
a scientific farm management plan sponsored by TVA and the University of Tennessee.
National Geographic,June 1973
846